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Do It Yourself Wedding – Part 1

DIY stands for “Do It Yourself” and the vast amount of projects brides are doing themselves to add more of a personal touch and/or save money in their budget.

Although not guaranteed to be cheaper than hiring a professional, projects ensure an event will be completely unique, and allow couples to have greater control over various elements of the wedding and reception.

Tasks increasingly taken on by the couple or their families include:

Flower-arranging and making bouquets and boutonnières, using real or silk flowers

Reception Gift Card Holder Keep your gift cards organized in style with this ultra bedazzled gift cad holder. Crafted of metal, this ornately designed envelope holder features a scrolling vine pattern, dazzling glitter and fun metal gift bow. All these features come together to create an enjoyable gift table accessory that everyone will love. Also works great for showers, birthdays, graduation parties, holidays, or any other special occasion. So set it up, tear it down, and use it over and over again! Includes a white cardboard insert that can be placed at the bottom to prevent envelopes from falling out.

Take care of the legal stuff as soon as you decide to get married. Go to the courthouse and get the marriage license. Write the ceremony yourselves. This step is not about haste or budget, but about having a ceremony that is meaningful and comfortable for you.

Wear clothes you already own, or buy something simple that you can wear again.

Tell everybody to wear jeans and sneakers, sandals and shorts, and their favorite shirt. People are a lot more comfortable in casual clothing, anyway, and it will put everybody at ease. Go casual.

Get married in your home, or your back yard, if you can. Let everyone know that your wedding is a barbecue, picnic, beach, or luau theme. It is much easier and less costly to orchestrate these gatherings than something more formal or fancy, and nobody will mind that everything doesn’t all match. Consider having a picnic or pot-luck wedding. Local guests can bring a food item, the more the merrier. Have a volunteer maintain a sign up list for the foods so you don’t have too many of the same item. Chances are, your parents and/or grandparents’ wedding receptions were cake-and-punch gatherings.

If you are considering catering your own wedding food, or even hiring your own caterers finding a reception location that allows you to bring in your own food can seem daunting. Many locations that are popular wedding reception venues have their own food staff or only allow certain caterers to work on their location. They make more money by making sure that you use their services. Find a location that lets you bring in your own wedding food. Have the wedding and the reception in the same place. Your guests won’t have to stop everything and get lost going from here to there, and you won’t have to prepare and clean up two different venues. Borrow chairs or inquire about renting them. Ask around and get creative. Otherwise, rent from a local party center.

Signature Vase Decorate your reception hall and home with love! Popular for all special occasions, this signature vase is the perfect canvas for sentimental décor. With an almost square shape and rounded edges, this white ceramic vase is modeled after an ever popular Scandinavian design. Each vase includes a special black ceramic marker that guests use to sign their names and well wishes. Instructions on how to preserve your vase and signatures also included.

Doing your own table arrangements is one of the easiest ways to save money on your reception costs, especially if you useflowers that are in season. You can also get creative with vases and non-flower arrangements. Even if you work with a florist, there are ways you can cut costs while creating one of a kind displays that compliment your wedding theme. Alternatively, for centerpieces, consider simple candles.

Potted plants and flowers that are growing in soil are great wedding table centerpiece ideas. The great thing about using potted growing flowers is that there is no risk of the flowers getting droopy or dropping leaves. Potted flowers and plants can be arranged several days in advance for a wedding, which is nice because it avoids last minute rush. The idea and symbol of growing plants and flowers is also particularly poignant for a wedding.

The easiest way to use potted flowers as your wedding table centerpieces is to just buy them already potted in ceramic pots. However, if you are on a budget you can do this a lot cheaper if you are willing to do it yourself.

Start growing your new life together. Garden and nursery stores sell flowers and plants by the tray – several small plants growing in separate little soil cups. Buy a few assorted trays of flowers and then replant in your ceramic pots. Decide whether you want to use one large pot or several smaller ones as centerpieces.

For table numbers or names, you can print out a table label and stick it right in the plant dirt so it looks like a garden stake. A bent paper clip is a perfect way to display the table label in the dirt. The table names could be based on the types of flowers or on something else that is meaningful to you.

Do it yourself seed wedding favors are the perfect accompaniment to the potted plant wedding table centerpiece idea. The potted flower wedding table centerpieces should be taken home at the end of the night by guests as favors or donated. Keep a few for you to enjoy.

One of the most fun and rewarding wedding crafts is to make your own homemade wedding favors. Do it yourself wedding favors are a way to say thank you to your guests. Plus, wedding favor crafts are so easy and cheap to make yourself if you use a little creativity. A favor is a little token of the two of you, presented to everyone. A favor can be a keepsake that the guests take home, or an edible favor that is likely to be eaten before dinner is served. Some favors help guests join in the celebration or are functionalat the actual wedding.

Bride and Groom Porcelain Platter Porcelain platter with bride and groom has hand-decorated pink accents with “Our Wedding Day” beneath. Guests can sign their names and add their best wishes to this cute platter. Accommodates up to 100 signatures Includes Black fine point marker

Flatten the rolls, measure and cut. Then cut along the fold line on one side.

Measure your scrap paper to be about 3″ by 2″ to fit in side the covers. I collect scrap paper throughout the year and cut it using a rotary paper cutter. Use plain or decorative papers, even grocery bags.

Put inside under the tiny flap and staple in place.

If you don’t want the staples showing on the outside of your wedding favor, simply staple the inside bundle of paper and then glue it inside the paper towel roll holder.

Stamps are just about the easiest way to decorate these and if you select non-toxic inks it will still have a very low footprint. Letter stamps for names and dates can be found at just about any crafting store.

Keep cleanup simple. See if a party store near you has an inexpensive roll of plastic tablecloth material in the color of your wedding. Cut it to length and don’t forget to tape it down, especially if you’re outdoors. If you decorate further, skip the crepe paper and balloons, which belong at birthday parties. Rolls of tulle or organza are nearly as inexpensive and deliver real wedding appeal. Skip the flowers or buy just a few from a supermarket.